Hold on a second, did Apple release a Vision Pro in black? Not quite, but the Play For Dream MR certainly did, stirring up quite the buzz as they showcased their device at CES 2025. Often dubbed the ‘Android Vision Pro’ due to its Android operating system, Play For Dream has managed to capture a lot of attention.
Originally launching in Asia last year, the Chinese company Play For Dream set its sights on bringing its Vision Pro-inspired mixed reality headset to Western markets. After kicking off a Kickstarter campaign in September, they drew in an impressive HK$2,271,650 (around $292,000 USD).
The Play For Dream MR is loaded with cutting-edge XR features, including a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset running on Android 15, dual 3,840 × 3,552 micro-OLED displays at 90Hz, eye-tracking, automatic IPD adjustment, both wired and wireless PC streaming capabilities, and a Quest Pro-inspired rear-mounted battery with Touch-style controllers.
In essence, this headset seems to offer it all—even mimicking the user interface of the Vision Pro.
Moving beyond design influences, Amanda Watson, a former Quest engineer, had an opportunity to test out the Play For Dream MR headset. On social media platform X, she described it as “absolutely the best all-around HMD demo I saw on the floor today.”
“It is essentially an ‘Android Apple Vision Pro’, but the execution was excellent. Great performance, optics, UI, and media capture/playback features,” Watson adds. She left Meta in 2022 after contributing significantly to projects like Quest’s Link and Wi-Fi streaming tool, Air Link. With that pedigree, if Watson praises a device, it’s worth taking note.
Watson further shared her thoughts on the headset’s USB and wireless PCVR streaming. “I tried USB—it still has a bit of a work-in-progress feel (frame rate and latency-wise) compared to other features, but given its recent introduction, it’s quite understandable. They’ve nailed the basics like controller motion, and the resolution is solid.”
In addition to streaming capabilities, Watson found the Touch-style controllers “very good,” though hand tracking wasn’t demonstrated. She particularly appreciated the headset’s pancake lenses which offered “excellent distortion correction”—a standout feature for her.
Play For Dream, once known as YVR since its establishment in 2020, has previously launched two generations of standalone VR headsets, namely YVR 1 and YVR 2, in China in 2022.
While there’s still no confirmed release date or price for the Play For Dream MR, the company plans to keep it under the $2,000 mark. For more details on specs and the latest updates, visit Play For Dream’s official website.
